The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, oral hygiene is a significant concern to many individuals. It is common practice for many to brush their teeth twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Another important oral hygiene step is dental flossing. While teeth brushing may remove plaque formed on the surface of the teeth, dental floss assists in removing plaque that may form in between adjacent teeth.
It is known that dental floss is a cord of thin filaments used to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth. The floss is gently inserted between the teeth and wiped along the teeth sides, especially close to the gums or underneath them. Toothbrushes do not clean between teeth or below the gum line. Used as an addition to tooth brushing as part of regular oral hygiene flossing can reduce gingivitis and halitosis compared to tooth brushing alone. In dentistry, floss is classed as an interdental cleaning aid.
In many instances, lip balm is a wax-like substance applied topically to the lips of the mouth to moisturize and relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. The primary purpose of lip balm is to provide an occlusive layer on the lip surface to seal moisture in lips and protect them from external exposure. Dry air, cold temperatures, and wind all have a drying effect on skin by drawing moisture away from the body.
Often, the hygiene for the mouth is performed at the same time to save time and effort. Thus, brushing teeth, flossing, applying lip balm, and chewing breath mints and gum. These different forms of hygiene generally utilize variously sized containers and applicators. Maintaining the myriad containers, applicators, and capping members in one place, and also organizing everything to be sufficiently compact for portability can be problematic.
Other proposals have involved combining a dental floss cap with a toothpaste cap. The problem with these devices is that they are limited to capping toothpaste, and access to the dental floss can be difficult, as the dental floss dispenses generally parallel to the top surface of the cap. Thus, an unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. Even though the above cited methods for a dental floss dispenser and capping member meets some of the needs of the market, a multipurpose filament dispensing device that dispenses a filament from a raised outlet, and extends the filament to a depressed cutting member to enable facilitated grasping and cutting of the filament, while capping a container of topical ointment is still desired.